Amnesty International USA Group 4 of Seattle

This Saturday (December 7th) we will be having Write for Rights, our annual letter-writing campaign, at the Greenwood Chocolati Cafe starting at 1pm. Case sheets, sample letters, pens, paper, and envelopes will be provided–just bring yourself and the means to buy hot chocolate, should you want it! The event will likely last a couple of hours, so feel free to drop by even if you can’t make it exactly at 1pm.

Chocolati is located at 8319 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle WA 98103 (at the corner of N 84th St. and Greenwood Ave N). For a map and street view, visit https://maps.app.goo.gl/uTRkiqGBuPXy2bMC6.

Can’t make it? You can still participate! Visit Write for Rights page on AIUSA’s website for more details on writing letters from home.

If you have any questions, you can email amnestygroup4@gmail.com!

The November Group 4 Amnesty Meeting will be held on November 19th (today!) at the University Friends Service Committee U District offices at 4001 9th Avenue NE from 7:00 – 8:00PM. We’d love to see you. For a map and street view go to: https://goo.gl/maps/ZjhAes5zWgE2

We will also have a hybrid virtual option for those who cannot make it in person! For information on attending the meeting via zoom, please email amnestygroup4@gmail.com.

On the agenda:

• Death penalty updates–including a special visit by Terrie Rodello, who is on a working group within AIUSA that is focused on the federal death penalty. She will be sharing some actions we are urging everyone to take, to ask President Biden to commute the sentences of all the federal death row inmates before he leaves office.
• December Write for Rights event
• Updates to the our new long-term case commitment
• Actions we need to take before the new US government administration comes in mid-January

All are welcome! We hope to see you there!

The September Monthly Group 4 Amnesty Meeting will be held on September 17th (today!) at the at the University Friends Service Committee U District offices at 4001 9th Avenue NE from 7:00 – 8:00PM. We’d love to see you. For a map and street view go to: https://goo.gl/maps/ZjhAes5zWgE2

We will also have a hybrid virtual option for those who cannot make it in person! For information on attending the meeting via zoom, please email amnestygroup4@gmail.com.

On the agenda:

• Urgent Actions updates
• Our new case commitment
• Banned Books Week
• Death Penalty updates
• Fall Regional Conference

All are welcome! We hope to see you there!

Due to varying schedule conflicts, for the next three months Amnesty Group 4 will be meeting on the third Tuesday of the month (as opposed to the typical first Tuesday of the month). This means that our September meeting will be held on September 17th!

Meetings will still be held at 7pm. We are still waiting to hear if the University Friends Meeting House is still available for in-person meetings at this time; if not, the meetings will be on zoom only for the next three months. Stay tuned for more details about this, and as always, contact amnestygroup4@gmail.com for more information about on attending the meeting via zoom. We hope to see you there!

The annual Group 4 picnic will be held this upcoming Saturday, August 17, starting around 1 pm. We’ll meet at our usual spot on the NW side of Green Lake park, between the Bathhouse Theater and the tennis courts. If you’re driving, there’s a parking lot at W Green Lake Dr N and Stone Ave N. Click here for the Google Maps view!

Please bring some food to share (plates and utensils will be provided). Camp chairs or picnic blankets would also be more than welcome!

In the case of inclement weather, the picnic will be canceled. Feel free to email amnestygroup4@gmail.com if you have any questions!

This is just a reminder that we will NOT have our usual monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 6th. In lieu of a meeting, we’ll instead be having our mostly-annual picnic at Green Lake Park on August 17th. Stay tuned for more details!

Our Amnesty International neighbors to the north hosted an online screening of Voices Across the Divide, a documentary that explores the Israeli occupation of Palestine, last week! You can watch the full video of the documentary here, as well as the Q&A with the director, Alice Rothchild, that followed the screening.

Interested in learning more about the current human rights abuses taking place in the Occupied Palestinian Territories? Visit AIUSA’s webpage dedicated to these issues for educational resources as well as tools for taking action!

Come to our next meeting on Tuesday, July 2nd, at the University Friends Service Committee U District offices at 4001 9th Avenue NE from 7:00 – 8:00PM. We’d love to see you. For a map and street view go to: https://goo.gl/maps/ZjhAes5zWgE2

For information on attending the meeting via zoom, please email amnestygroup4@gmail.com.

On this month’s agenda:

• Updates on our case commitment application
• Summer postcard action
• Documentary film screening hosting by our friends in the Bellingham Amnesty International group
• Fall Western Regional Conference
• Figuring out a date for our annual summer picnic in lieu of an August meeting

All are welcome!

We’ll be hosting a virtual Write for Rights event on December 10, Human Rights Day. Click here to learn more about Write for Rights and to sign petitions on behalf of this year’s 10 cases. You can register here to join us. This is a free event.

Demand a fair trial for Mikita
Mikita was just 16 when he was arrested after being caught up in crowds leaving a protest in Homel, Belarus. The teenager was held in solitary confinement and has reportedly been tortured. Join his parents and call for his release.

Demand protection for Janna
15-year-old Janna Jihad faces death threats and intimidation for her work speaking up for human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Take action and demand her protection.

Demand Justice for Wendy Galarza
Wendy Galarza was shot after attending a protest in Cancún, Mexico. She almost lost her life speaking out for women’s rights in her country. Take action and demand justice.

Free Bernardo Caal Xol
Bernardo Caal Xol is in prison for speaking out against the destruction of the river Cahabón in north central Guatemala. Join us to demand his release.

Free Zhang Zhan
Zhang Zhan is in prison in China because of her work reporting on the Covid-19 outbreak. Take action to demand her freedom.

Protect Rung from prison
‘Rung’ is facing life in prison for speaking out for freedom and democracy in Thailand. Take action to demand her freedom.

Free Imoleayo Michael
Imoleayo is facing prison for taking part in the #EndSARs movement in Nigeria. Take action to demand the charges against him be dropped.

Demand protection for LGBTI group in Ukraine
Anna and Vera run an organization that provides support for LGBTI people in Ukraine. But they and their colleagues have been attacked and abused – and the authorities are not protecting them. Take action to demand justice.

Free Mohamed Baker
After dedicating his life to human rights work in Egypt and representing people whose rights have been taken away, Mohamed Baker has now found himself locked up. Take action to demand his immediate release.

Free Ciham Ali
Ciham Ali has been missing for over 8 years. When she was just 15 years old, she was taken by the Eritrean authorities while trying to leave the country. She has not been seen since. Help us find Ciham and get her released.

Hey, everyone. I just wanted to spread the word regarding a couple of upcoming events being hosted by our friends at the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Seattle. Here’s information from the center regarding each event:

On Tuesday, September 14, 2021, we will be hosting a virtual talk at 12pm PT entitled, “More Than Any Child Should Know: Holocaust Center Graphic Novel launches new graphic novel“, which serves as the launch of our new graphic novel based upon the life of beloved Seattle Holocaust survivor, Steve Adler. Through this event, novel co-authors Paul Regelbrugge and Julia Thompson, both team members with the Education department at the Holocaust Center, artist Sean Dougherty, and special guest, Barbara West, Steve Adler’s daughter, will explore the process it took to bring Steve’s story from concept to reality.

Steve Adler personified the remarkable strength and resilience of so many of our local Holocaust survivors, dedicating much of his life to telling his story to inspire students to confront bigotry and indifference and take action. In 2021, we began developing this graphic novel based on Steve’s experience during the Kindertransport, which delivered thousands of Jewish children out of Nazi-controlled areas and into safety.

Additionally, on Tuesday, September 28, 2021, we will be hosting a virtual talk at 12pm PT entitled, “Ordinary Men Revisited Three Decades Later” with author Christopher Browning. Written almost 30 years ago, this talk will look at the origins and initial arguments of the book, the critiques it faced in the 1990s, and subsequent developments in Perpetrator Studies.